The University of New Mexico's College of Fine Arts announces the inaugural Spring 2021 Promising Artist Awards (PAA).

This opportunity is open to all of New Mexico’s talented high school juniors and seniors in all disciplines of fine arts: musical solo of any style or genre, music composition, painting, drawing, filmmaking, theatre, dance, sculpture, art criticism, printmaking, photography, dramatic writing, and more.

"I am pleased to open the arms of UNM Fine Arts to aspiring high school artists and performers of all mediums seeking to further their exposure and education," said UNM Fine Arts Dean Harris Smith. "We are indeed a world-class, affordable option to those truth-seekers and future leaders brave enough to hold up a mirror or lens to the myriad worlds they were brought up in and currently reside."

The submission deadline is Friday, March 19, 2021. All submissions will be reviewed by UNM Fine Arts. The students selected to participate will receive a notice by April 7, 2021.

Each student must include an Artist Statement (no longer than 500 words) explaining how the work submitted represents an interest in UNM Fine Arts and the specific department of interest, for example: Art, Film & Digital Arts, Music, and Theatre & Dance.

●      For ART - submit a single PDF file of good-quality (150dpi to 300dpi) images for five works of art and demonstrating the breadth and concentration of the student’s creative experience. If work is intended to be viewed from more than one perspective, students can include up to three images of the same artwork. Please provide basic information about the submissions including the work’s category (e.g. Ceramics; Drawing; Fibers; Graphic Design; Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting; Photography; Printmaking; Sculpture), year created, medium, and overall dimensions. Submissions need to represent the student artist’s original creative efforts and cannot be a direct copy of another artist’s work. Please do not submit work copied from published photographs, magazines, book illustrations, online images, or other publishing sites; please do not submit work if there is uncertainty to the original source of the work’s imagery.

●      For FILM & DIGITAL ARTS - submit one strong original creative work including, and not limited to a film, video, poem, script, journalistic article, and photo, computer programming for games, animation, business plan, digital photography, music & sound, multimedia piece, drawing, painting, etc. Please upload the file to YouTube and send the link or use Dropbox for any file over 10mg.

●      For MUSIC - submit one musical performance (no more than five minutes). Performances may include an unaccompanied solo, an accompanied solo, an original musical composition (MIDI or live), a duet, or a small ensemble. Performances may be voice or any instrument (woodwind, brass, percussion, string, electronic, mariachi, rock, folk, digital, etc.). Please upload the file to YouTube and send the link or use Dropbox for any file over 10mg.

●      For THEATRE & DANCE - submit one 2-3 minute video of a performance of a theatrical monologue, dance, or original scripted piece (such as poetry-slam style performance or other performance work). When making a recording, please find a neutral background for the video submission and begin with a slate (ie: name, high school, and the piece that will be performed). Please upload the file to YouTube and send the link or use Dropbox for any file over 10mg.

Each student will receive a certificate of distinction and a special invitation to a virtual visit of the UNM College of Fine Arts on April 21. During this virtual visit, they will receive one-on-one developmental advice on their submitted work and helpful information on pursuing an education in the arts, by an outstanding UNM faculty member in their area of interest. These faculty members are nationally and internationally regarded as leaders in their disciplines.

Special scholarship prizes will be awarded to a select few PAA participants who enroll in UNM Fine Arts, up to $250 per freshmen semester.

To be considered, click on the “Submit Your Work” link to fill out the submission form and upload a video, image, or paper of your work that demonstrates your abilities and pursuits.

For more information about the PAA Scholarship, visit the UNM Fine Arts website. Applications can be found here.